


Kill Anakin

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: A lot of deaths, Anakin is Bill, Anakin was never nearly killed by Obi-Wan, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Kill Bill AU, M/M, Mpreg, Obi-Wan and Anakin have been together since Anakin became a knight, Obi-Wan is the bride, Obi-Wan thinks his children are dead, Past Mpreg, Yoda is disappointed in Obi-Wan, and he eventually killed his master so that he could be emperor, but he still wants to help destroy the empire, non-linear story telling, so he didn't have to feel so grateful towards Palpatine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 16:51:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18077261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi followed Anakin to the dark side after the fall of the jedi, hoping to somehow either convince him to change, or kill him before he can do any more harm. But he eventually fell in too deep, and found himself growing comfortable with his new life. At least until he finds out he's pregnant, and realizes that he doesn't want his children raised by the evil emperor. He runs, but Anakin chases him, determined to kill him for the perceived betrayal. And now Obi-Wan is on the warpath, ready to kill everyone responsible for taking away everyone he loved.





	1. Volume I

Obi-Wan gasped for breath and kicked his legs back and forth as he fought to get free of the invisible grip wrapped around his neck. He knew that Anakin would surely be able to kill him here, because Anakin had always been the more powerful of the two of them, but Obi-Wan had one last piece of information that he hoped would save his life, if only to save the life inside of him. 

For a moment, Obi-Wan looks over at where Satine was lying dead on the ground, along with the friends they had invited to their wedding. Well, they were really more Satine’s friends than his, but he still loved them. It was supposed to be a happy day as they practiced for the wedding that was to come, but it had been ruined when Anakin had showed up. For just a second, Obi-Wan had been foolish enough to believe that Anakin was really there to wish him well and see him off. He was a moron for believing that, and now the woman he loved was dead, after she had done so much for him, taking him in and giving him a second chance. Anakin hadn’t even needed to do more than flick his fingers to kill everyone in the small church single-handedly. 

But he couldn’t focus on Satine, no matter how much her death tore him up inside. He needed to focus on Anakin, and whatever he could do to stop Anakin from ending him right here and now. He knew that he should never have run, but he had been frightened. He imagined that anyone would be if they found out that they were pregnant with the Emperor’s child. “The babies… they’re yours…” he managed to choke out.

Anakin’s eyes widened just a fraction in surprise, and then the grip on Obi-Wan’s neck suddenly increased. “You shouldn’t have left me, Obi-Wan,” he hissed out. “I would have given you anything. But it’s too late to beg for my forgiveness now!” And then everything went black. 

,,,

Obi-Wan glanced down at the piece of paper in his hands and glanced back up at each building he walked past. He was looking for a very specific one, which would contain a very specific person. A person who he intended to kill.

It was almost laughable to remember the days, many many years ago, when Obi-Wan had been a self-proclaimed pacifist, and had tried to teach Anakin the same. But Anakin had always been too stubborn for his own good, and in the end the allure of power had been too much for him to resist. 

And now Obi-Wan was on the warpath. Of course he fully blamed Anakin for the deaths of Satine and the twins, but Anakin wasn’t the only one at fault. There were others who had made him into the person he was now, and if they had not convinced him to sidle his way over to the dark side, then Obi-Wan could have lived a happy life. He might have even lived it with Anakin. He had once loved the man, though it was very difficult to remember why these days.

There-! Obi-Wan came to an abrupt stop outside the building he was looking for. It seemed ordinary enough on the outside, for a giant narcissistic castle, but Obi-Wan could feel the darkness radiating off of it into the force, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. He double checked that he had his newly acquired weapon in his pocket. He’d had to go rather out of his way to get it, but it had been worth it considering how useful it had already been. 

Obi-Wan knocked politely on the door, and then waited patiently until it swung open. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t have the time for…” The man on the other side of the door trailed off as he realized for the first time just who was standing on his porch, and his eyes widened. “Obi-Wan,” he breathed out.

Obi-Wan arched one eyebrow. “Have you missed me, Dooku? I can only imagine how much you must have been weeping during the funeral.”

“The entire empire would’ve wept,” Dooku whispered.

“Except for the fact that they were unaware of my existence, right? Anakin was always too selfish to share his toys with others, long before he went dark. And now you’re here, hiding away from him and everyone else, and I have to wonder what it is that you’ve done to get yourself so thoroughly onto his bad side. I must admit, I was a bit surprised to see you answering your own door.”

There was a long pause, and then Dooku stepped aside so that Obi-Wan could enter the building. He glanced around the entrance way as he was led further inside, taking in every detail. It looked very similar to the giant manor Dooku had lived in years ago, before he’d officially turned to the dark side. Except for the fact that it managed to feel even more lonely and desolate than that other place had.

They ended up in a kitchen, and Dooku turned to stare at Obi-Wan, apparently unwilling to take his eyes off of the redhead. And Obi-Wan couldn’t really blame him, considering why he was here. “Ventress is dead,” he said conversationally. “I ended her myself.”

Dooku’s eyes widened, and then he gulped once. “That is tragic.” He hesitated for a moment before saying anything else. “Obi-Wan, I swear to you I had begged Anakin to leave you alone in your new life. He is the only one responsible for what happened to you. I was saddened to hear of what he did, and I am done with that life now. I am here because I am comfortable being alone with my experiments. Just let me continue on as I am. I will never do anything against you, I just want to live my life.”

Obi-Wan made a clicking noise with his tongue. “Shame, then, that you couldn’t allow me the same courtesy. We were close, once. I always saw you as something of a grandfatherly figure. Like we were family. But clearly I was wrong, because family would never turn on each other so easily.” He pulled out his lightsaber and turned it on, allowing Dooku to stare in awe at the pure black color of it. 

Dooku gulped again. “No, that’s impossible. How did you get your hands on that?”

“Not without a great deal of effort,” Obi-Wan admitted. “But I’ve always had a way with words, you know that.”

Just like with Ventress, the mere appearance of the darksaber was enough to lower morale, at least for a moment. He leapt forward and swung his weapon without making any noise, and Dooku had to roll aside to avoid the blow. He was quick to pull out his own lightsaber then, and they began to parry. Obi-Wan had the advantage of being much younger, not to mention the fact that he had always been a better master at the blade than Dooku had been. In fact, short of Anakin himself, Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if there was anyone who was on his level. Years ago, he’d have been more humble. Now, he just knew that he needed to use all of his skills to complete his revenge. 

Both of them were flinging around the force and waving their sabers, slashing and throwing and bruising each other. Obi-Wan kept getting the upper hand, as Dooku’s saber was almost forced to touch the darksaber, even when Dooku had not intended such a move. It was a powerful weapon, and Obi-Wan was overwhelmingly grateful that it had been gifted to him. 

They didn’t move with any of the grace or fluidity that they’d been taught, instead hacking at each other with raw movements, both full of emotion and the will to survive. Then Obi-Wan let Dooku get close enough to burn a small line into the side of his face. With the saver extended so close to him, and far away from Dooku, it was easy for Obi-Wan to fling it out of Dooku’s hand, and he sliced through the metal casing to ensure that Dooku wouldn’t be able to call it back with the force and continue using it. Then he raised his saber, ready to lay down the killing blow.

He was interrupted by a soft voice coming from the kitchen doorway. “Father?” Obi-Wan couldn’t help peering back to see who had intruded on his victory, and saw a little girl standing there, probably around the same age as the twins would be if they had lived. Because of the thickness of the dark energy around the castle, Obi-Wan hadn’t even noticed such a small presence approaching. 

Dooku gave Obi-Wan a pleading look. “Please, you cannot kill me in front of my daughter. Meet me tonight, there is a small field a few miles from here. You were always a reasonable man, Obi-Wan. Please, don’t do this.”

And even though he wanted his revenge, more than just about anything in the world, Obi-Wan turned off his saber and slid it back into his pocket. “Fine,” he bit out. “But don’t think that this is any kind of favor towards you.” He turned around to get a better look at the girl. She had the same eyes as Dooku, but hers looked much kinder. She didn’t seem to be force-sensitive, but Obi-Wan refused to let the proof of Dooku’s changes deter him from his own plans. Maybe Dooku was a better person now, but that did nothing to change the past. 

And then, just on the edge of his perception, the force warned Obi-Wan of danger, and he whipped around just in time to duck aside and avoid a blaster bolt that flew past him. It singed a few of his hairs, but he could care less about that. Obi-Wan used the force to yank the blaster out of Dooku’s grip and crush it in the air, while simultaneously vaulting forward, pulling out his saber, and jamming it through Dooku’s heart. Just to be on the same side, he took of Dooku’s head before the body could even fall to the floor.

Obi-Wan put his saber away again, and turned to look at the little girl, who was standing there frozen in shock and fear. “I had to do this. Revenge for things that you wouldn’t understand. But I’m not unreasonable. Someday, when you’re big and strong, if you want to come after me for revenge for your daddy, I invite you to go ahead and try. Until then, stay out of trouble, kid.” He started to leave, but then paused in the doorway. This was an abandoned planet, and surely Dooku wasn’t friendly enough with anyone that they would show up anytime soon. If he left the girl here, it would be tantamount to leaving her to die. So Obi-Wan heaved out a sigh before looking at the kid. “Do you have any friends or family you could stay with?”

The girl’s eyes started glistening with tears, but she nodded once. “Miss Amaly comes here once a week to tutor me in stuff that Father isn’t as good at.” She grimaced, and then sank down to her knees. “She’ll be here in two days.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Great.” A quick look around showed that there would be enough food in the kitchen for the girl to survive the next two days on her own, but he wasn’t cruel enough to make her look at her father’s body everytime she was hungry, so he made quick work of cleaning up, tossing the body and blood down in the backyard. “Tell this Miss Amaly of yours to check out back if she needs to see your father.” Then he left, satisfied to cross one more name off of his list.

,,,

“This is a goddamn mess,” the closest guard muttered. “How the hell are we supposed to explain to the world that the duchess is dead, right alongside her fiance and closest guards?”

One of the other officers nodded towards the heavily pregnant redhead who seemed to be laid out in the center of everything. “Something about this seems off to me,” she said quietly, wishing to be respectful of the dead that were sprawled out all through the church. “If this was a political hit, then why does it look like Ben was the last to be killed? If anything, shouldn’t he have been the first, as a way of torturing the duchess?”

The first guard frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re right. This is very strange. With all the focus on Ben, it almost looks like the duchess wasn’t much more than a passing thought in the killer’s mind, and it doesn’t make any sense.”

The second guard crouched down next to Ben’s body. The others had all been killed quickly and with no blood, while Ben looked broken down and beaten up, with blood and bruises all over him, staining the white suit he was wearing. She reached forward to brush aside a lock of coppery hair. “What happened to you?” she asked him quietly. And then she fell back onto her butt a moment later when a strangled whine escaped Ben’s lip. “Holy mercies, he’s alive!” She quickly jumped to her feet to call out through the open door of the church. “We need a medic in here! Someone prepare a bacta tank! Quickly, people!”

,,,

Maul gained a few odd looks as he walked down the hallway in a nurse’s dress, doing nothing to hide his unusual skin pattern or horns. He walked with the quick confidence of someone who knew exactly where they were going, and then he arrived at the room he was searching for. There were two guards out front. Even though no one really knew where their precious little ‘Ben’ was from or much of anything about him at all, they were all loyal to him solely because he was their leader’s chosen mate. While they all mourned Satine’s death, they were all the more determined to protect Ben from further harm. 

Maul took great pleasure in watching them run towards the distraction at the end of the hallway. Savage wasn’t a pleasant person to be around, but he was generally pretty good at following Maul’s orders, and that was what counted. 

As soon as he could, Maul slipped into the hospital room, and walked over to the bacta tank that was up against the wall. Obi-Wan was floating around in the thick gel, looking more peaceful than Maul could ever remember seeing him before. He also looked so much tinier than normal, because he didn’t have his usual intimidating presence flaring up to warn everyone back. 

Maul pressed his hand up against the side of the glass, feeling for the faint pulse of life in the force that showed Obi-Wan was stubbornly clinging to the idea of remaining alive. “I’ve always hated you, you know,” Maul said conversationally. “From that first day when you chopped me in half, to the time that you turned me down because you’ve always thought you were too good for me, to everything that happened after that. I hated you even more for following Anakin like a lost puppy, even as he made you turn your back on everything you’d ever believed in. It meant that even you didn’t have integrity, not really. You’re an unbearable bitch and you always walked around with a holier-than-thou attitude that made me want to grind you into the dust. And you humiliated me in front of everyone the first time we sparred, because you used your scent against me, making me look like a fool. So I hate your guts and want nothing more than to see you die writhing in agony. 

“But I can’t deny that there’s always been something special about you. Something worth being respected. Be glad that you’re going to get a quick and quiet end, Obi-Wan. Most people in our line of work never get such a gift.” He reached into one of his pockets to pull out a small gray vial. He twisted the cap off and set it aside on the little table nearby, and then walked over to the pumps that kept the bacta gel inside the tank clean and pure. All he had to do was tip the contents of this bottle inside, and Obi-Wan would be dead in minutes. 

Just before he could do that, though, there was a chirp from his communicator. Maul pulled it out with a noise of irritation. “What?”

“Is that any way to talk to your Emperor?” Anakin asked in an almost amused sounding voice.

Maul gulped. “Sorry.” He was glad for many reasons that Obi-Wan would be dead in just a few minutes. One of the biggest was that separately, Obi-Wan and Anakin were both forces to be reckoned with. But when Obi-Wan and Anakin were working together, they were utterly unstoppable and utterly terrifying. Taking Obi-Wan out of the equation would make the Emperor less frightening, hopefully. “Why are you calling me?”

Anakin sighed, as if Maul were a small child for not already understanding what hadn’t yet been said. “How is he?”

Maul narrowed his eyes at the fondness in Anakin’s voice. If anyone else had ever tried to pull what Obi-Wan had, Anakin would hate them for all of eternity. Not that anyone else ever would be able to do such a thing. The way Maul saw it, the only reason Obi-Wan ever had a chance at getting so close to Anakin in the first place was because he’d already known Anakin for so long. “In a coma. No one’s sure when he’s going to wake up. I was just about to-”

“I know what you were about to do,” Anakin said with a slight chuckle. “I’m calling to tell you not to do it.”

Maul’s eyes widened, and he clutched so tightly at his communicator that it creaked in his hand. “What the kriff do you mean-!?”

“Calm down,” Anakin barked at him. “I’m your Emperor, not some cheap alleyway whore that you can yell at. Obi-Wan may be a stubborn bitch, but he’s also been in the game for a long time, and done a lot of things worthy of our respect. It would be dishonorable to kill the guy when he doesn’t even have a chance to defend himself. I want you to get out of there, and you’re not to return without my explicit say-so. Do you understand?”

Maul had to take in a deep breath and then slowly let it out to stop himself from shouting again. “Yes sir,” he muttered.

“Attaboy,” Anakin told him with obvious amusement before abruptly cutting off their communication.

Maul scowled, and then turned and looked back at the tank, where Obi-Wan was still floating around peacefully, having no idea how close he’d just gotten to death yet again. “Don’t think that this means anything, you little bitch. You better hope you stay in that goddamn coma forever, because the second you wake up, I’m going to find you, do what I should have done to you the first day we met, and then maybe, if I’m feeling generous, I’ll slice you in half right down the middle.” Then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

,,,

The first thing Obi-Wan was aware of as he woke up was that he felt the familiar heaviness of full submersion in a bacta tank. He opened his eyes, peering through the goggles that were wrapped around them, but he couldn’t see much of anything past the thick green goo.

Moving his limbs took forever, since the bacta gel was meant to keep the patient’s muscles in good condition, which meant not letting them flail around constantly. At least it also meant that there was rarely more than an hour or two of rehab needed before he’d be back on his feet again. 

It felt like it took forever, but Obi-Wan finally managed to reach the top of the tank. He may or may not have cheated and used the force to propel himself up there quicker. Then he used the force to shove the top of the tank off, so that he could climb out. He landed in an awkward pile of limbs and goop on the floor, but he managed to get to his feet after a few minutes of sitting there in a daze. 

He took off the goggles and oxygen mask, and then blinked and looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where he was exactly. Well, considering the fact that he was entirely naked, there was at least one more important priority than location, and that was finding himself some clothes to wear, and maybe a warm shower.

As Obi-Wan took a few steps forward, he found that he felt very weirdly light on his feet. He looked down at his body, and it took him a moment to realize what was wrong. His stomach was completely flat. He moved his hands to his stomach to pet over it and then clutch at it, trying to figure out where the hell his babies were. Then he sank down to his knees and choked back a sob. With everything Anakin had done to him, throwing him carelessly around the room and even deigning to use his hands to beat him up, it couldn’t be possible for the twins to have survived.

There was no time to scream and cry now, though. He just needed to get out of there, and then figure out how to actually get to Anakin. He didn’t think that tracking the man down would be very difficult, since he was the Emperor and all, but actually being able to get to him would be tricky. Surely he’d built up even more troops and protections in the time since Obi-Wan had first left him. And who knows how long he’d been sleeping in that tank?

Obi-Wan got himself out as quickly as possible, grabbing a spare set of robes, and then stealing the first speeder he came across in the parking garage without caring who it belonged to. He drove pretty far away before actually stopping to look at the onboard computer. His eyes widened in alarm when he saw the date. Had it really been four years since the day that he was supposed to get married? Four years since he’d lost everything? Four years of sleeping in a goddamn tank while the rest of the galaxy moved on without him?

It wasn’t fair, but then again, life rarely was. There was nothing he could do the change the past, but at least he could do something moving forward. He had to kill everyone who’d been involved in that fateful day. Even if Anakin had been the only one physically there, Obi-Wan knew for sure that the others had been a part of it too. How could they not be, when they were Anakin’s most trusted warriors? So elite that despite working directly for the Emperor, no one even knew that they existed. And Obi-Wan had been the best of them all.

He found a piece of paper, where he carefully wrote down the names of everyone he needed to kill. Not that there was any chance of him forgetting about any of them, but it felt good to have a plan, even if it was just the order in which he was going to go after them. 

First was Asajj Ventress, then Dooku Serrano, then Ahsoka Tano, then Maul Opress. And finally, once they were all dead and had buzzards picking at their corpses, he would go after Anakin himself, and complete his revenge. Obi-Wan had no illusions that he would live a happy life after this was all over, but his children would be avenged for the fact that they’d never even gotten the chance to be born, and he would be avenged for everything he’d been put through. 

So, first up was Ventress. She had been trained under Dooku ages ago, before Dooku had declared her too incompetent and kicked her away. That was long before Anakin had even been a thought in his own mother’s mind. She hadn’t let that discouragement stop her, though, and had instead returned home to train and grow stronger. Eventually, she killed the leader of her people, and took over as the new leader of the Nightsisters, a pack of magic wielding crazies with an affinity for the dark side.

To get to Ventress, he’d first have to get past all of the Nightsisters. It wouldn’t be easy, but seeing as she was the one with the most resources and people on her side, it was imperative that she be the first to go. So Obi-Wan would need to get himself a little bit of assistance. 

He hadn’t seen his lightsaber in years. When he’d left Anakin, his favorite weapon had been left behind as well, and there was basically no chance of getting it back. But he definitely needed a saber to get past the Nightsisters. There was one person who might be able to help, though he’d probably be reluctant to do so, considering their history. But Obi-Wan had to at least try.

,,,

He hadn’t been quite sure where to begin his search for the person who was probably the last living jedi left, but maybe the force could tell that he was no longer seeking to work for the dark side, even if he was committing dark acts. And with the force’s guidance, Obi-Wan found himself heading to a small swampy planet called Dagobah. 

There wasn’t much information on the planet at all, but he knew that the force wouldn’t lead him astray, and he let himself follow the trail being laid down for him. With the amount of trees and thick foliage all around, it was difficult to find a spot where he could land in the stolen ship he was piloting. Anakin had always been better at managing the hopeless landings.

He almost made it, but then last minute, one of the wings of his ship clipped a tree, and he tipped down, crashing right into a giant bog. Obi-Wan groaned when his head smacked forward against the steering apparatus, but he shook off the slight daze that followed so that he could scramble to get out of the ship before it was completely submerged. 

Obi-Wan crawled to the nearest bank, spitting out mud and water, and heaving for breath. He let himself collapse down completely, but only for exactly a minute. That’s all that he would allow before forcing himself back up to his feet, and looking around. He felt a bit disoriented, especially with the way that the force was surrounding him so fully in this place full of life. It was little wonder that his great-grandmaster had chosen to hide out here, when the rest of the universe felt so dull and empty these days.

It was at least a few hours of wandering around before Obi-Wan’s instincts pointed him towards an odd little tree, and that’s when he noticed the door that had cleverly been built in. Obi-Wan smiled fondly at the thought of seeing the old troll again, and he knocked politely. 

The door swung open, revealing a wrinkled, green face. Yoda was, of course, much older and wiser than Obi-Wan, at least when it came to matters of the force. And yet, it seemed as though he had not detected Obi-Wan’s presence, because he seemed surprised to see him standing right in front of him. Yoda shook his head once. “Be here, you should not. Go, you should.”

Obi-Wan bowed his head, and then dropped to his knees. It had been a long time since he’d last seen Yoda, and their last encounter had not been a pleasant one. Yoda had practically begged him to stay and fight with him, but Obi-Wan had refused to believe what anyone was saying about Anakin, and had instead run off to find his former padawan before things could go too far. And then once he’d found Anakin, he’d been left with two very simply choices- join him and vow his loyalty forever, or die where he stood. At first, he’d told himself that he’d stayed to preserve his own life, and to eventually take Anakin down. Over time, he’d eventually admitted to himself that he had gotten opportunities to kill the new emperor, but had chosen not too. Part of it was from still being so in love with the Anakin he’d once known, and part of it was because he’d found himself rather well suited to his new life. 

Somehow, up until that last day, Obi-Wan and Anakin had managed to successfully hide their relationship. It wasn’t until Obi-Wan left that Yoda had realized the truth, and now here he was on Yoda’s front step, hoping his plea wouldn’t be turned down the same way he had done all those years ago.

“I’m so sorry,” Obi-Wan murmured quietly. “But I need your help. You’re probably the only one who can help me. I know that I should have done this from the beginning, but my eyes have finally been opened enough for me to see the truth. I need your help to kill Anakin.”

Yoda made a soft humming noise for a moment before answering. “Anakin, he is not. Now Vader, he is.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes. I am ready to take him down for good. To be truthful, my intentions are rather selfish. I won’t be doing this for the sake of the empire, but for my own sake. I’ve already accepted my fall into the darkness, and I can live with it.”

There was a very long pause, and then Yoda’s walking stick was rapped against Obi-Wan’s shoulder a couple of times. “Rise, you will. Enter, you may. Guarantee help, I cannot.”

Obi-Wan was sure that Yoda could feel his relief in the force, even though he’d become an expert at shielding over the years. He slowly stood up, and followed Yoda into the cramped little home. He had the feeling that showing pity for these living conditions would accomplish nothing, so he remained silent.

He was abruptly shoved down into a chair by the force, and then watched as Yoda went to bustle about in his little kitchen area. A few minutes later, he returned with two cups of tea. He placed one in front of Obi-Wan and one in front of himself. Obi-Wan raised the cup to take a sip, but wrinkled his nose at the foul scent of it before he even drank any. “Master, surely this is toxic to-”

“Call me by that title, you will not. Lost the right, you have. Lost the order, we all have.”

The reminder of what had led to this moment was sobering, and Obi-Wan gulped once as he set his cup back down on the table. “I apologize. It was merely habit.” He cleared his throat once, and decided that it would be best to move on to why he was here. “I need to kill Anakin, as well as all his top commanders. But I don’t have a weapon at the moment. None of those bastards are going to get taken down by any ordinary blaster or knife.”

Yoda gave Obi-Wan a long look. “Heard about the Duchess of Mandalore, I did. Once very close, you were. Willing to leave the order for her, you were.”

Obi-Wan looked down at his hands, unable to meet Yoda’s intense stare. “We were going to get married,” he whispered. “Of course she already knew me from when were much younger, and I could have easily claimed to have been in hiding since the fall of the jedi, but I knew that I had to be honest, so I told her everything. And even after hearing about everything I did, she still hugged me and let me stay, and it was so easy for all of our old feelings to come back to us. And now she is dead because she loved me.”

“A worthy cause, she believed you to be. Blame yourself, she would not want. Lead you to the dark side, hate will.”

That’s when Obi-Wan looked up, an almost wry smile on his face. “It’s definitely too late for me to be worrying about falling to the dark side. I’ve been living there for so long now that I can hardly even remember living any other way. But I don’t care about my own soul, or presence in the force. All I care about is getting my revenge, and hopefully making the galaxy a hell of a lot safer for everyone who’s stuck being left behind.” He hesitated for a moment, not sure how much of the truth he should tell Yoda. But considering just what he was asking for, it seemed only fair to be entirely honest in return. “I was pregnant. Twins. They’re gone now, though.” He took a deep breath in, and then slowly let it out. “They were Anakin’s.”

Yoda had the same look on his face that he always did when any of the jedi, from the youngest in the creche to the others on the council, did something foolish and expected to be yelled at. But Yoda always surprised them by not yelling. “In love, were you?” he asked gently.

And wasn’t that a loaded question. “I loved him for a very long time, it almost feels like I don’t know how to stop. I followed him for so long because I loved him. Even now, when all I want is to destroy him the way he destroyed me, I can’t help but love him. But I think I stopped being in love with him somewhere along the way. It wasn’t until I found out I was pregnant that I realized that truth.”

Yoda nodded. “See now, I do. Stay here, I must. But help you, I will. Have what you need, I do.” He finished drinking his own tea, and then hopped down to his feet, hobbling over to a dusty chest in the corner of the room. He pulled off a key that he had been wearing around his neck, tucked under his robes, and used it to unlock the chest. He pulled out a piece of dark gray metal that vaguely resembled a lightsaber, and then clicked it on. Obi-Wan’s eyes widened as he looked at the completely pitch black weapon that emerged, shaped more like a sword than a normal saber. “Have had this many years, I have.” He turned it off, and tossed it over to Obi-Wan, who automatically used the force to make sure he was able to catch it properly. “Train with it before you leave, you must. Use it wisely, you must.”

Obi-Wan gulped, and clenched his fist tightly around the handle. He bowed his head, letting his feelings of gratitude flow through the force. He half-suspected that Yoda was only demanding he stay to train because he was lonely, but he could not find it within himself to begrudge the old man his company. Anakin and the others would all still be there in a month or two from now, and besides that, working with this darksaber would be different than his usual lightsaber, so it would be good for him to figure out those differences now rather than in the heat of the battle. “Thank you so much, Ma- Yoda. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this.”

There was an oddly sad look on Yoda’s face. “No payment, I require. Fix your mistakes, you must. Succeed, you will.”

Obi-Wan offered a small smile. “I will make this right, I swear it to you.” He was a bit surprised by the confidence in his own voice, but then settled down when he realized how right it felt to say such a thing. There was no reason for him to not succeed here. He was going to kill Anakin and everyone else on his little list. And then, if he was still alive, maybe he’d come back here to live out the rest of his days in exile with Yoda. It wasn’t the worst fate he could imagine. But first thing’s first- he needed to make sure Anakin was dead.

,,,

Obi-Wan’s hands tightened into fists as he approached the temple where the Nightsisters resided. As foolish as it was to go after anybody on their own turf, Obi-Wan knew that there would be nothing that could stop him from getting his vengeance. And Ventress, while technically easy to track, always moved through her jobs so quickly that she was always a step ahead of Obi-Wan without realizing it.

So instead he had come here, to her main sanctuary and home, and had simply waited for her to return. This would not be easy, but back in the good old days, Obi-Wan had been rather famous for recklessly throwing himself into hopeless situations and making it out alive. He had no reason to think differently about this situation, especially with a darksaber on his side. The Nightsisters were going to be tough, but Obi-Wan had a lot of motivation to make it through this in one piece. 

He stayed in his hiding spot for a couple of days, and then felt victorious when he watched Ventress return home. He focused especially hard on shielding himself, to prevent the force-sensitive Ventress from detecting that he was nearby. While it wouldn’t be the end of the world, it would certainly be easier for him if he could pull off a surprise attack. 

To Obi-Wan’s relief, Ventress kept walking, unaware of any nearby disturbances. Obi-Wan was grateful, because he needed all of the advantages that he could get at the moment. Once she was inside, he closed his eyes and focused on following her force signature so that he could make sure he wasn’t bursting in while she was standing nearby.

Based on her current location, as well as that of the other Nightsisters, Obi-Wan figured that he was as safe as he was going to get, and got up to walk right in through the front doors of the temple. He was wearing a robe with a hood pulled over his face, and kept sending out very subtle force messages that would make everyone just naturally try and avoid approaching him. He didn’t want everything to get ruined by him getting caught here. 

Obi-Wan moved around the hallways very carefully, making certain to constantly be on guard for where any other living beings were. After a few minutes, he found a small room that only appeared to have a single person in it. Obi-Wan slipped inside, and saw that it was a bathroom.

He grinned to himself at the convenience, and stepped into one of the open stalls to wait until the other occupant was done, and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. Obi-Wan sprang out of his hiding place, drawing his saber out and holding it just in front of the woman’s throat. She was clever enough to not try and jerk away, since it would be very easy to just accidentally decapitate herself.

Obi-Wan dragged the woman down the hallways, in the direction that he could sense Ventress’ force signature coming from, and then paused in a fairly large room. “Asajj! I think you and I have some unfinished business!” He also pushed his words to her through the force, in case she couldn’t physically hear him from where he was standing.

After a moment, the door in front of him burst open, and several Nightsisters stepped into the room, glaring at him, but not making any move to get closer, since they knew that it would be all too easy to kill their sister. And then, as they took in the sight of the darksaber, their eyes all widened in surprise, and Obi-Wan was infinitely grateful to Yoda for giving him this weapon out of any of the ones he could have handed over.

And then Ventress stepped into the room, dressed in more casual clothes than Obi-Wan was used to seeing her in. Apparently she viewed this temple as her safe place, and did not feel the need to get all dressed up when she was at home. Obi-Wan almost felt bad for attacking her in the place she was supposed to be safe, but he only had to think about what had happened four years ago for him to instantly get over the beginnings of the sympathy that had started to build up in him.

“Obi-Wan.” She said nothing else, just stared at him, and waited for him to make a move. 

Well, if it was going to be up to him to get things started here, then he would be glad to do so. He yanked his saber to the side, slicing the Nightsister’s arm off and then shoving her to the ground. “Well?”

Ventress narrowed her eyes, and then ordered the four sisters with her to go down and fight Obi-Wan. They had their magic, but Obi-Wan was quick on his feet, and the darksaber moved so easily in his hands that it almost felt like it wanted to take lives and spill blood. He killed all four sisters before any of them could start chanting or casting spells, and no blood was spilled at all, as the saber neatly cauterized the wounds that it created. 

He looked up at Ventress, one eyebrow quirked up in almost amusement. “Any more sisters you want me to kill?”

For a moment, it almost looked like Ventress would grab a weapon and leap forward to face off against Obi-Wan herself, but then there was the sound of pounding footsteps, and Obi-Wan could feel all the living signatures rushing towards this room. He knew that there were a lot of Nightsisters, and had come here fully expecting that he might have to fight off all of them.

Ventress turned and ran out the opposite door as the room was flooded with people, and Obi-Wan could feel the agitation and anger in the force. When it was coming from such a large group, it would have felt like a punch to the gut if it weren’t for the fact that he had spent so much time around Anakin that he’d grown somewhat desensitized to anger in the force.

They gathered in a circle around him, raising their hands, and getting ready to start using their magic against him. Before they could get started, Obi-Wan spun in a tight circle, cutting through the stomachs and chests of all the closest sisters, letting them collapse to the ground with their insides falling out. Then he leapt away from the main crowd to catch his bearings. 

There was now magic being directed towards him. Not wanting to risk catching some terrible curse, Obi-Wan let the force wash over him, getting warned every time one of the dangers got particularly close. In the force he was focused entirely on the magic itself, which meant that he needed to keep his eyes wide to track all of the physical bodies of the sisters.

They put up a great fight, and even though his weapon didn’t draw any blood from his enemies, he soon found himself covered in his own blood. He was glad that adrenaline existed to keep him going, and everytime his limbs just felt too weary to keep moving, he would press a layer of the force against them. In the middle of a wild combat like this, there was no time for doing any proper healing, but he made do with whatever he could do in a split second before focusing back on the magic flying everywhere.

Several daggers made it through his defenses, but in the end, all of the sisters were lying on the ground. Some were dead, others just missing a limb or two. He stared down at them with hard, unforgiving eyes. “Those of you who still have your lives should take them and leave now.” 

Surprisingly, only two of the fallen sisters made a last attempt to throw their magic at him. He dodged aside the blows, and quickly drove his saber through both of their heads. Then he looked at the others. They scowled and glowered, but they got up and helped each other limp pathetically out of the room.

Satisfied, Obi-Wan hurried through the door Ventress had gone through earlier, and found himself standing in a small zen garden. It looked like it would be right in place in a jedi temple, and Obi-Wan wondered if this temple had always belonged to the Nightsisters. But that didn’t matter at the moment.

What mattered was the glare on Ventress’ face. “You think that you’re any better than me?” she hissed. “You with your constant looking down on everyone and acting like you were just such a perfect jedi, and then defecting the second you got the chance because you thought that the dick was good? And you think that you have any right to judge me?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I wouldn’t care about you in even a passing thought. But you’re the one who helped kill my children, and my friends, and the woman I loved. There’s no way I was going to ever let any of you be. You should have finished the job and killed me if you didn’t want me to come back and get my revenge.” He held his saber out, ready to keep fighting despite the exhaustion weighing down his muscles and the pain dripping down from his many injuries. 

Ventress pulled out a saber of her own, and shifted into position to begin a fight. Then, without any warning, Obi-Wan charged forward, saber clashing against saber. His feet slid through the sand, but he used the force to keep himself steady, and used it to slam against Ventress like a constant, invisible force, essentially punching her all over even as they fought.

She used the force to smash into the backs of Obi-Wan’s legs, and when he was off-balance for a moment, she used the opportunity to try and slice down the center of his back. Obi-Wan moved aside quickly enough to keep his life, but he could feel the searing pain being etched into his skin, and he topped backwards. The sand was ground up against his injuries, and he grit his teeth at the intense pain.

Ventress walked closer and stood over him, a victorious grin on her face. “I think you’re getting old. Once upon a time you were known as one of the greatest jedi warriors to live, and were one of the great generals. And now you’re nothing. A pitiful excuse for a human life, and I’ll be doing you a favor to just put you out of your misery already.”

Obi-Wan’s nostrils flared, and he ground his teeth together so hard that he was almost afraid of chipping them. But then he slammed his palms flat against the ground, and did his best to pour his pain into the ground, into the force. There was no way to get rid of it entirely, and without intense meditation he couldn’t completely block it out, but he could do his best to get rid of as much as he could so that he would be able to survive this.

Then he pushed himself up, and managed to stagger back up to his feet. Ventress stared at him with wide eyes, clearly surprised that he was able to get up. He couldn’t blame her; he was honestly a bit surprised as well. But he knew that he couldn’t die, at least not until he’d killed Anakin, and his will to survive was very strong. 

The look in Ventress’ eyes changed to something almost close to respect. She didn’t say anything, though, just faced off against him once again. Obi-Wan could understand that pre-battle chatter had never really been her thing.

Their sabers clashed together, and with how tired he was already, Obi-Wan would definitely be at a disadvantage, if it weren’t for the darksaber that he was wielding. Within a matter of seconds, Obi-Wan was able to slice of Ventress’ hand to disarm her, and then raised his saber to cut her other arm off as well.

Her usual stoic expression was marred by the pain she was feeling, and she didn’t have any hands left to press up against her wounds, not that there was any bleeding that needed to be staunched. He didn’t bother asking him any of the questions he had for her, since he knew he couldn’t trust her answers. Instead, he took advantage of the pain she was in to swoop in and close the force tightly around her, until she was babbling out everything he needed to know about Anakin and the others. 

When he was finished learning everything that he needed to know, Obi-Wan swung his saber one last time, cutting Ventress’ face right in half, watching dispassionately as her scalp was flung away, and then her body fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Even as he stared at the fallen body, he couldn’t find it within himself to feel regret for what he’d done. There was very little he would regret at this point, at least in terms of what he needed to do to put an end to Anakin’s reign once and for all. 

,,,

Somewhere far away, Anakin glowered down at the corpse laid out on a metal table. He kicked at one of the table legs, jostling the body around. “You stupid, weak bitch! Couldn’t even defeat one man with the help of all your pathetic magic tricks? What the hell did I employ you for?” He kicked at the table again. “You better not have told him that the babies are still alive!”


	2. Volume II

Obi-Wan appreciated the way that Satine rested her hand on top of his as they sat next to each other on the long bench. “I know how insane it is for you to be here with me of all people.”

Satine gave him a fond look. “There is no one else I would prefer to be here with. You know how I feel about you.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “And I feel the same for you.”

The bench behind them had several of Satine’s close friends, and they all leaned forward, laughing. It was one of the few times where they didn’t need to keep up any pretenses, and had the privacy to just act like themselves. “We get it, you two are sickeningly adorable together. But that’s no reason to make us sit through this entire rehearsal for a second time because you two weren’t paying enough attention this time around.”

Satine sighed. “I suppose we should just stare at each other in quiet longing, then.” She squeezed Obi-Wan’s hand. “Does that sound alright to you, Ben?”

It still sounded so strange hearing an unfamiliar name coming from her mouth. It was weird enough when all those people who’d never met him before called him Ben, but he and Satine had been very fond of each other when they were much younger, and he had always enjoyed the way she said Obi-Wan in that beautiful voice of hers.

But he was slowly learning to get used to Ben, and it wasn’t really so bad. Soon he would be Ben Kryze, and while there had been a few objections from the general public, overall the people had been happy for their duchess. They had spent a long time worrying that she would never get married and have children. And of course, everyone assumed that it was a shotgun wedding, and that Obi-Wan was carrying Satine’s children. It was ideal for everyone to think such a thing, and in all but blood, Satine would be their parent anyways.

The man in front of them clapped his hands together, and offered a friendly grin to everyone present. “Alright then! I know that this isn’t going to be a typical Mandalorian wedding, because we are combining traditions to please both our duchess and her mate. I have no doubt that this place will be packed during the actual wedding, considering just who it is that’s getting married.”

“There will be no press at the wedding,” Satine announced in a calm voice. “I have a large family and many friends, but there will be no reporters or cameramen. It is a private affair for me and my beloved.”

The man blinked once, and then shrugged. “Alright. Many people will expect a televised event, but that is your decision to make.”

As they were sitting there, listening to everyone drone on about the various things that would happen during their wedding, Obi-Wan rubbed his hand over his belly almost subconsciously. He felt a bit of a thump beneath his hands, and then let out a light groan. He leaned over to whisper into Satine’s ear. “I just need some air right now.”

Satine gave him a worried look. “Is everything alright? Are you okay? Are the babies?”

Obi-Wan quickly nodded. “Yes, everything is fine. I just feel tired of listening to all of these plans.”

Satine nodded, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You can go, then. Stay close, though. At least within sight of the guards.” Because of who Satine was, her royal guards insisted on accompanying her, even though Satine was a pacifist and refused to see anyone injured at the hands of men and women who worked for her. But she seemed to understand their necessity, at least when it came to Obi-Wan’s safety. Being the only one who knew about Obi-Wan’s past also meant she was the only one who understood that it was impossible to guarantee that his past would never come and catch up with him.

Obi-Wan agreed, and then got up to slowly amble down the long aisle and out onto the front porch of the small church. He rubbed his belly, and then froze when he suddenly felt a very familiar force signature, and snapped his head to the side to see where Anakin was sitting on the little porch swing. He looked around, but none of the guards seemed alarmed by Anakin’s presence. He’d probably used the force to convince them that he was supposed to be here.

Obi-Wan stared down at the man with wide eyes, and gulped once. “Anakin. What are you doing?”

Anakin grinned. “Well, right now I’m sitting here and talking to you.”

Obi-Wan took a cautious step closer to Anakin, glancing over at the guards again. They remained undisturbed at their posts. “How did you find me?” he asked instead.

Anakin suddenly narrowed his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. He pouted the same way he had back when he was just an unruly padawan, and it was a look that wasn’t nearly as flattering on a grown man. “We have a bond, Obi-Wan. You may have shielded, but I eventually found it, and followed it until I got here. And now you’re pregnant?”

Obi-Wan took a moment to try and get a feel for what was being transmitted into the force, but he wasn’t detecting anything more hostile than usual from Anakin, and he instinctively relaxed. “Yeah, twins. A boy and a girl.” Anakin stood up and stepped closer to Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan stood his ground. “Have you met Satine?”

The look in Anakin’s eyes was almost something amused, and while it wasn’t what Obi-Wan would have expected, he was glad for it. “Is she the one who’s the duchess and has her face plastered on the news all the time?”

Obi-Wan’s face flushed a light pink. “Ah, yes. We knew each other when we were younger, and-”

Anakin cut him off. “I’m aware. You may not remember, but you once told me that she was the only time you’d ever considered leaving the order.” His voice sounded bitter, but then he cleared his throat and did his best to sound more cheery. “I would like to meet her, though.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened. “You want to come to the wedding?”

There was only a moment of hesitation before Anakin answered. “If you’d have me there.”

Somehow, the possibility that Anakin would just let him go, with his blessing to boot, had never occurred to Obi-Wan. But he was immensely pleased that that was the case. He’d never thought that he could have the normal life he wanted, and also have Anakin in his life too. “Would you like to-”

Before he could finish his question, Satine stepped outside. “Obi-Wan, I know I’m the one with the power here, but the rev really wants to get this…” she trailed off when she saw Anakin standing there next to Obi-Wan, and it sounded like she choked on her own words for a moment. “You!” She clenched her hands into fists, and if she wasn’t such a strict pacifist, she would probably be throwing punches. “How dare you show up here after everything you have done?” The guards all turned to look when they heard Satine shouting. 

The pleasant demeanor Anakin had been using before melted away, replaced by his signature scowl. He threw his hands out, and all of the guards’ necks snapped simultaneously, and they all dropped to the ground. Obi-Wan immediately went to move so that he was standing in between Anakin and Satine. “Get out of here before I kill you myself,” he growled. “You are not welcome here!”

Anakin narrowed his eyes. “Just a minute ago you were ready to invite me to the wedding. What have you told your new lover about, Obi-Wan? Called me some kind of monster that you needed to flee from?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I told her the truth. Everything you’ve done, and also everything that I’ve done. I’ve kept no secrets from her.”

Anakin scrunched his face up in the way that was always inevitably followed by a temper tantrum. Obi-Wan grabbed Satine’s hand and pulled her back inside the church, using the force to slam the door shut. Everyone else looked over at the two of them, startled by the sudden commotion, but Obi-Wan would rather keep them all alive than preserve their comfort.

But unfortunately, Anakin was stronger with the force than Obi-Wan, and he was able to utterly destroy the door, crumpling it into splinters and dust and then he was storming inside. He raised one hand, and everyone in the room dropped dead before Obi-Wan could do anything. His eyes widened and he let out a gasping sob. “No-!” A scream got caught in his throat before it could be released, and then Anakin turned on Obi-Wan.

Using the force, he lifted Obi-Wan into the air, and then began slamming him into the ceiling and floor and walls until he was a bruised, beaten up mess, and then he was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. Anakin began to squeeze at Obi-Wan’s neck, a dark look on his face. He looked deranged, and Obi-Wan could feel the tears dripping down his cheeks.

“The babies… they’re yours…” he managed to choke out.

Anakin’s eyes widened just a fraction in surprise, and then the grip on Obi-Wan’s neck suddenly increased. “You shouldn’t have left me, Obi-Wan,” he hissed out. “I would have given you anything. But it’s too late to beg for my forgiveness now!” And then everything went black.

,,,

So there were two people on the list dead, and three to go. Next in line was Ahsoka Tano, Anakin’s padawan. When Anakin had turned to the darkside, Ahsoka had originally been resistant to the idea of following him. But between the fact that the jedi order had screwed her over pretty badly, and the fact that even Obi-Wan had gone with him, had convinced her that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to go with her master, and continue with the training she’d started before leaving the order.

Her and Anakin had always been close, and that bond between them had only grown stronger with their time on the darkside. The three of them were like a little family, with Obi-Wan and Anakin being the fathers to Ahsoka. There had been a time that Obi-Wan would have done anything for the girl. But now he was on his way to kill her. 

Despite being one of Anakin’s closest underlings, she lived in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, on Tatooine of all places. It was by her own choice, though. From what he’d learned from Ventress, Ahsoka had decided that she was done with the killing business, and had decided to amicably move on to other exploits. Which had really boiled his blood to hear. How was it that when she left, she got a pat on the back and a ‘good job’, but when Obi-Wan left, he got attempted murder and the murders of his loved ones? Something about that just didn’t seem balanced out at all.

But regardless of that, Obi-Wan still had a job to do. Maybe it was just his own mission this time, but that didn’t make it any less important than any of the hundreds of other missions he’d completed in his life time. 

Obi-Wan arched one eyebrow at just how isolated Ahsoka’s home was. It was almost like she was asking Obi-Wan to kill her. Or, to be blatantly living on Tatooine like this, maybe she just wanted to make sure that Anakin couldn’t come and drag her back into the life she’d left behind. Either way, he wasn’t going to complain about things being too easy, though. He ducked down, wearing a black cap to hide his copper hair, and crawled underneath the trailer, where he closed his eyes to meditate as he waited for his target to arrive.

It took awhile, but then he could feel the brush of a familiar force signature, and Obi-Wan slowly slipped out of his meditative state. He watched booted feet shuffle up to the front steps, pause for a moment, and then continue on inside. Obi-Wan sighed, and then sat in wait for several hours longer.

Once night had fallen, and the air was a much more comfortable temperature, Obi-Wan crawled out of his hiding place, and carefully stretched his limbs, making sure that none of his joints cracked. Then he pulled out his saber, and pressed himself up against the wall beneath an open window. He could hear some music playing, and it tugged at his heart strings for just a second. Obi-Wan had been the one to introduce Ahsoka to the classics, and it had been their thing, because Anakin had always insisted that that kind of music was too boring.

But then the music abruptly cut out, and Obi-Wan waited. He could hear the creak of footsteps inside, and followed the feeling of that force signature. It seemed most likely that she was heading to bed now. 

Obi-Wan clenched his jaw, and then burst through the front door. As soon as he did, there was a blaster being fired into his chest, sending him flying back into the sand, saber falling out of his hand. The blaster clearly hadn’t been on its highest setting, or Obi-Wan would definitely be dead, but that didn’t stop it from hurting like a son of a bitch. He bit back any pained groans that wanted to escape, and tried to stand up, but his body refused to obey him. It had been a stunner.

Ahsoka slowly stepped outside and walked over to him. “You always did think that you were so clever, Obi-Wan. Anakin told me that you’d be coming.” She looked at him almost blankly, and it was so bizarre to see her so emotionless, because one of the things that had made the order dislike her was the fact that she was so bad at keeping her feelings to herself. Then she pulled back and actually kicked Obi-Wan, as if that was more effective than the using the force to hurt him. She aimed the blaster at Obi-Wan, and shot him twice more. He could feel all the pain of it, but remained awake and unable to move or use the force at all. It was a cruel way to exist. “This is for breaking my master’s heart,” she muttered.

Then she wandered over a couple of feet away, but where Obi-Wan would still be within her sight, and pulled out her comm link. After a brief crackling noise, there was a voice on the other end. “Anakin?”

“Guess again.” Ahsoka said with a small smirk on her face.

Maul’s voice on the other end immediately dropped into one of disappointment. “Ahsoka. What the hell do you want?”

She gave a gleeful grin as she walked over to the fallen darksaber, and then picked it up in one hand. “How interested would you be in buying a darksaber?”

There was a sharp gasp on the other end. “Is he dead?”

Ahsoka looked over at Obi-Wan. “Not yet. But a few stunning blaster shots have gotten him lying snug as a bug over here, and he definitely is not going anywhere.”

Maul said something that was too quiet for Obi-Wan to hear it, and then spoke louder. “How much do you want for the saber?”

Ahsoka lifted up the handle to tilt it back and forth in her hand, though she didn’t turn it on. “I mean, it’s just so hard to put a value on something so priceless.”

“Cut the shit. How much for the saber?”

Ahsoka shrugged, and lowered her hand to clip the saber to her belt. “Let’s say you get your creepy ass here with a million credits and the saber is yours.” Then she abruptly hung up the call, and tucked her comm away. She walked back over to Obi-Wan, and spit down on his cheek, knowing that he could do nothing to wipe away the insult. “And now it’s time for your end.”

Obi-Wan could do nothing but lie there and listen as Ahsoka called in some friend he’d never heard of before. Every now and then, Ahsoka would shoot him again, and it was only years of training that prevented any tears from leaking down from his eyes. He saw Ahsoka’s friend show up with a small metal crate. She used the force to lift Obi-Wan, and he couldn’t struggle at all no matter how much he wanted to. 

She landed him roughly inside of the crate, and then tossed a little pen light in with him. “Hope you enjoy the last few hours of your life. It’s not like anyone is ever going to find you here. And this container is made of force nullifying metal, so you’re not going to be able to get out of here.” She shot him one last time, this time right in the head, and everything went black.

,,,

Anakin gave Obi-Wan a fond look. “And where does the council think we are right now?”

Obi-Wan’s grin was bordering on mischievous, and Anakin enjoyed getting to see this new side to Obi-Wan. For years, he’d thought that Obi-Wan was just the perfect jedi and that his padawan was nothing but a constant disappointment to him. But then he’d become a knight, and Obi-Wan began to treat him as an equal, and Anakin loved every minute of it. And when that little grin appeared on Obi-Wan’s face, Anakin just wanted to dart forward and kiss him breathless. “Right now, we are supposedly stopping for more fuel and parts because our ship is just in such disrepair.”

Anakin laughed. As a child, he’d assumed that Obi-Wan would never do anything to go against the jedi council. It was only now, as an adult, that he understood that that wasn’t the case. Obi-Wan just found more subtle ways to go against them than Anakin’s blatant disrespect and refusal to follow orders. “Seems reasonable, Master.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “You know you don’t have to call me that anymore, Anakin. Unless you’d like for me to keep referring to you as my padawan?”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough of that. Now why don’t you tell me why we’re here instead of hauling butt back to the temple?” Not that he wanted to go back to the temple, of course. Spending time with Obi-Wan like this, where it was just the two of them and no danger in sight, was Anakin’s favorite thing.

Obi-Wan leaned back against the small log behind him. “Do you remember Qui-Gon Jinn?”

“Of course. He rescued me from a life of slavery, and died trying to fight off a sith. He was your master, and he’s the reason you took me as your padawan. He’s also known as one of the only people to ever succeed in using the force with an inhibitor on.”

There was an almost distracted look on Obi-Wan’s face as he nodded. “Yes, most of that is true. But there is one thing that you got wrong. Qui-Gon did not die on Naboo. He’s always been a rather stubborn man, and so have I. After fighting off the sith, I nearly burnt myself out using the force to heal Qui-Gon as much as I could. He was still very weak, though, and we both knew that if he returned to the temple, he’d be saddled with desk work or a seat on the council, or some other fate that would only serve to castrate him. So we spirited him away somewhere safe where he could heal in peace, and he has remained here ever since. I nearly cracked in front of the council when I told them what had happened, but I was able to pull it off. Master Jinn was always a bit of a wild card, but he was the best master I could have asked for. Did I ever tell you about how we came to be master and padawan?”

Anakin perked up as he shook his head. “No, you haven’t.” Obi-Wan, even now, was always such a closed off, mysterious person, and Anakin was always excited to learn more about him whenever possible. “From the way you asked that, I’m assuming that it’s something of a story?”

Obi-Wan snorted. “You could say that. I wasn’t Qui-Gon’s first padawan. His first was a man named Xanatos. He ended up turning to the dark side, and Qui-Gon was so shaken and disturbed by it that he was in a depressed slump, and refused to take on any more padawans. I think he feared the idea that he was the one who had led Xanatos into corruption. Meanwhile, I was a youngling who had just aged out. The council made one last ditch effort to get me a master, but none stepped forward. I’d like to think that it was never anything personal against me, though I’ve always been hesitant to ask, even after all this time.

“Anyways, I was going to be sent to the farms to work at manual labor. It was my greatest shame, to think that I would never become a jedi, even though that was specifically what my family sent me away to become. The transport I was on contained Qui-Gon as well, and I think it was Yoda trying to force a connection between us. He thought that if Qui-Gon were to just meet me, then he would want me, since we were so similar.”

Anakin narrowed his eyes doubtfully. “You were similar to the blatant wild card who faked his own death to get away from the jedi order?”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “I was different as a child. I was not as tame as I am now. But Qui-Gon refused to look at me. And then our transport was attacked by his former padawan. Qui-Gon was injured, and even though I had no official training, I grabbed his saber and leapt into the fight to protect him. Xanatos ended up dying in the fight, and I was badly injured. But in the end, Qui-Gon decided to take me on as his apprentice, and apologized for not doing so sooner. It wasn’t long after I started to grow my braid that I became known as the ‘perfect padawan’. I guess it was something of a defense system, for both myself and Qui-Gon’s sakes. I didn’t want to give anyone any reason to believe that keeping me had been the wrong choice.” They both sat in silence for a few minutes, and then, just before Anakin could say something, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “We should both get our rest now. Qui-Gon wakes bright and early, and expects others to do the same.”

Anakin nodded and silently got ready to go the sleep. He stared up at the stars for a few minutes, and then tipped his head to the side so that he could look past the campfire, and directly at Obi-Wan’s face. In his sleep, Obi-Wan looked so peaceful, and so young. Anakin wished that he could just crawl over and settled down right next to his former master, but he was scared to put their budding friendship at risk just because he wanted more.

,,,

The next morning they hiked to the bottom of a very tall and steep set of stairs. Obi-Wan gave Anakin a pleasant smile. “Are you ready for this?”

Anakin reached up to clench tightly at the strap of his bag. “Yes.” 

There wasn’t much talking between them as they walked up, because even though they were both in good shape, it was a long way to go, and deserved their utmost attention. And then they finally reached the top. Anakin could feel his clothes clinging to him, and sweat dripping down into his eyes, and didn’t understand how Obi-Wan had managed to look so composed and unaffected by the climb. 

Once they reached the top, it only took them a few more minutes to get to a small hut, and Obi-Wan stepped forward to knock politely on the door. “Master Jinn, it’s Obi-Wan. I would like to introduce you to your grand padawan.”

The door swung open a moment later, revealing a tall man with a long graying beard and hair. He looked about the same as he did in Anakin’s very vague memories of the man. Qui-Gon’s eyes flicked over Anakin briefly, but then settled on Obi-Wan, a familial warmth in them. “I was not expecting you until next month.”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “Some plans were changed, and I thought that I would just come here now. We were in the quadrant anyways. Are you going to let us in to sit down, or just make us keep standing out here like useless lumps?”

Qui-Gon stepped aside so that the other two men could enter his home, the fond look never leaving his face. Soon, they were all settled down at a small wooden table, a cup of tea in front of each of them. Anakin hoped that Qui-Gon wasn’t judging him for the several spoonfuls of sugar that he had to drop into his cup just to make it bearable. “I am pleased to learn that you are alive, Master Jinn. Even though we only knew each other for a very short time, I am immensely grateful for what you did for me.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Qui-Gon said dismissively. “And please, there are no formalities here. Call me Qui-Gon. Or I suppose that you could call me Grandfather if you would prefer.”

Anakin looked to Obi-Wan for guidance. Even though Obi-Wan always kept himself well shielded in his force, Anakin knew him well enough to read his face, which told him that Qui-gon was only teasing him. “That would require you to call him grandson,” Obi-Wan told his former master with a small laugh. “Try not to tease him too much, though. He can’t take all that much.”

Anakin resisted the urge to pout at Obi-Wan’s comment. It was easier to just let it go for now. He was sure he’d find a way to get back at Obi-Wan for it at some point. Though maybe he wouldn’t bother, because it was a pretty big treat just to see Obi-Wan look so relaxed and happy, even while wide awake.

After some of the initial awkwardness of meeting a new person wore away, Anakin found that he was enjoying himself, and loved all the stories Qui-Gon had about a younger Obi-Wan. He really had been a trouble maker as a kid, and Anakin really enjoyed all of that proof that his master hadn’t always been a perfect, prissy, by the books person. It gave him more hope for the developing relationship between them now.

As it got darker outside, Qui-Gon pulled out the stronger drinks, and they all started to get light buzzes. Somehow, Anakin was the biggest light weight of the three of them, though he didn’t mind so much, because right now, Obi-Wan was perfect. There was a faint pink flush to his cheeks, and his accent seemed to get thicker as he spoke. The way his mouth shaped Anakin’s name was enough to bring far too many inappropriate thoughts to mind. 

Anakin drank down another glass, and then leaned back so his seat was resting on just two legs, and peered over at Qui-Gon. “So is it true that you can use the force even with an inhibitor on?”

Qui-Gon chuckled. “Ah, I see the rumors about me have yet to die down. Though I half suspect that my apparent death only made tales about me circulate faster, and get out of control sooner. But yes, it is something I can do.”

Anakin stared at Qui-Gon with wide eyes. “You have to teach me!”

The light and pleasant air in the room seemed to dissipate as Anakin let his chair slam forward onto the ground, and he leaned across the table to look at Qui-Gon. He knew that he probably looked intense, but he found that he didn’t care. He was the Chosen One and he was supposed to restore balance to the force, or whatever. And what better way was there to do that than to learn as many unique skills as possible?

But for some reason, a troubled look crossed Qui-Gon’s face. “I cannot do that. I can’t- I can’t teach anybody.”

Anakin quickly began to scowl. “And why the kriff not? What makes you so special that you deserve to hold onto all of that knowledge yourself without even trying to share it? I could-”

“No,” Qui-Gon told him in a firm voice. He looked to Obi-Wan. “I see that you weren’t exaggerating when you spoke of your padawan.”

“I’m not a padawan anymore,” Anakin snarled. He stood abruptly, and slammed his hand down on the table. “I’m a knight, and I’m perfectly capable of…” then he trailed off as Qui-Gon’s entire sentence sunk in. He turned to look at Obi-Wan, unable to hide the betrayal he was feeling. “You talked about me to him? Complained about how terrible a student I was, and how I’m a garbage person, and-”

Obi-Wan quickly got to his feet as well, and moved so that he was standing very close to Anakin, having to tilt his head back to look him in the eyes. “I spoke of you with pride, Anakin. Of course I have had complaints, but any master would have complaints about their padawans. And I am certainly not unaware of the many complaints you have had with my teaching. It is natural for me to confide in my own master, Anakin. It has nothing to do with you. I do not think you were a terrible student, even if you could be a bit of a handful at times.”

Anakin searched both the force and Obi-Wan's face, but he could not find any sign of him being disingenuous. His shoulders slumped down. “Oh.” 

Obi-Wan smiled, and reached up to squeeze Anakin’s upper arms, and then he looked past him to see Qui-Gon. “Perhaps we should be on our way now. There’s only so much time we can spend here before the council wonders for our safety and tries to send help.”

Qui-Gon nodded. “Of course.” He pulled Obi-Wan into a tight hug without any hesitation, and Anakin couldn’t avoid feeling slightly jealous. He could not so casually touch Obi-Wan, and he also could not stand that there was someone else who could. Obi-Wan seemed perfectly comfortable with the touch, to add insult to injury. “You know that if you ever decide that the order is not right for you, there will be a spare room here with your name on it.”

Anakin scowled. For someone who claimed to know Obi-Wan so well, he certainly didn’t seem to understand Obi-Wan’s very intense dedication to staying with the order and following all of their rules twenty-four seven. Then the two finally pulled apart from each other. “Until the next time, Qui-Gon.” He smiled, and then gently pulled Anakin out of the hut. 

They headed back to the ship, and even though Anakin was just a bit too drunk to actually pilot, he trusted Obi-Wan to get him back safely. As he settled into the passenger seat, he turned his head to look over at Obi-Wan, who had the same look of concentration on his face that he always did when he was doing just about anything. It was an adorable look, and even though Anakin could still feel some slight anger simmering in him, he mostly felt content. He hated that Obi-Wan was able to affect him so much, but at the same time, he wouldn’t give it up for anything.

,,,

Obi-Wan woke up slowly, and was immediately aware of the pain that filled his whole body. Stunning blasts were not meant to be repeat hits like that, and he cringed to think of what permanent damage could have been caused to his poor body. After all the stress he’d already been through, it seemed like he still just couldn’t catch a break.

But more importantly, Obi-Wan needed to get free before this prison became a coffin. His wrists and ankles had all been chained together, and he could feel the heavy wretchedness of a force inhibiting collar around his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut at the thought of dying here, where no one would ever find him, and three people who deserved to be killed would still be free to roam around. 

There was no way that Obi-Wan was going to let that happen. Tucked between his hands was the penlight Ahsoka had gifted him, and he turned it on before setting it between his teeth, and craned his neck around so that he could get a better view of the inside of the container. He kicked his feet around to feel for any weaknesses, but he couldn’t find any, and didn’t want to needlessly tire himself out right now.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out. He didn’t plan on sticking around in here long enough to be affected by the limited amount of oxygen in here. Obi-Wan could still remember the day he’d learned what would surely save his life right now. It had been after he’d gotten back from a dangerous mission. He’d been kidnapped and tortured, and his access to the force was cut off from him. Eventually he’d been rescued, mostly thanks to Anakin. While on his recovery, he’d gone to visit Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon had felt Obi-Wan’s distress through the training bond that they still maintained after all of this time, but had been helpless to do anything. That was when he taught Obi-Wan how to break through force inhibitors, “To ease the stress of an old man,” he’d claimed. He had been warned to use his new skill sparingly, at the risk of newer, better inhibitors being made, and to prevent legions of force-sensitives from knocking down his doors and demanding training. He also said that the only reason was truly willing to consider teaching Obi-Wan was because Obi-Wan had never demanded, or even politely asked, to be taught.

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut, and focused internally, on the small spot within himself that he knew to be connected to the force. He wasn’t sure how long he was in that meditative state, but eventually he was able to use the force to tear the bindings off of himself, and then smash through the roof of the container. He wasn’t expecting all the dirt that rained down on him, but was able to fight through it, until he was eventually pulling himself up and free.

He gasped in breaths of clean air, followed by coughing out the dirt and dust that seemed to be rattling around in his lungs now. He looked around, and shivered as he realized that Ahsoka had buried him alive inside of a graveyard. And it had very nearly become the place of his death. The gravestone on the plot he’d been buried in said ‘Andy Emmenherrt’, and he silently apologized to the body that must have been displaced from there.

Then he turned, and closed his eyes to focus on which direction he could feel the most life from. Once he was more certain of which way would lead to town, Obi-Wan started walking, dust falling from him with each step. He was exhausted, and hurting, and sore, but he just clenched his teeth and kept on moving forward.

,,,

Maul took one hand off the wheel of the speeder to reach down and pat the pocket with the credit chip in it. It had a million credits on it, and he probably would have been willing to pay ten times that much for the darksaber, and for proof that Kenobi was really dead. Anytime he started to feel too much sympathy for the redhead, he only needed to look down at his robotic legs to recall why that sympathy was unnecessary.

Then he reached Ahsoka’s trailer, and wondered why the girl had insisted on living out here, where there was no animal or plant life within miles. It was almost grating to the senses to not be able to detect anything nearby as part of the force. Then again, there was a lot of things about Ahsoka that he’d never understood. 

He parked his speeder, and then headed up the steps, pushing the door open without bothering to stop and knock first. Ahsoka looked up from where she’d been standing next to a cramped bookshelf, skimming through a pad she’d grabbed off of it. She shut it off and crammed it back onto the shelf. “Good, you’re here.”

Maul blinked once at the unnecessary comment. Then he looked down at the gray metal clipped to her belt. “May I?”

Ahsoka held out one hand. “Hand over the money, and then it’s yours.”

This time, Maul did roll his eyes, but he fished into his pocket to grab the chip, and tossed it over to Ahsoka. She easily caught it, and then plugged it into the nearby console to check it over. Once she was satisfied that the credits were there, she freed the saber, and tossed it to Maul. He caught it, and could immediately feel the darkness radiating off of it. 

Ahsoka grinned at him, and then held out a slip of paper. Maul took it, and quickly scanned over the address. “What’s this?”

“It’s where Obi-Wan was buried alive three days ago. He’s always been a stubborn bastard, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still alive. But check back in a few years, and you can do whatever you want with the skeleton.” She walked over to the only two chairs in the trailer, and sank down into one, and then motioned for Maul to sit across from her. “So what are you feeling right now, knowing that he’s dead? Relief, or regret?”

Maul had never been big on explaining his feelings, but the whole point of going dark was so that he could have feelings without being persecuted for it. “Regret,” he said simply, without any kind of elaboration. 

Ahsoka snorted. “Well, I can say with absolute certainty that all I feel is relief. After what he did to Ventress and Dooku, and more importantly, what he did to the emperor. He deserves everything he got.”

Maul shrugged, not feeling in the mood to argue. “Mind fixing me a drink? It’s hot as balls out there, and I’ve got a long ride back to the space port.”

Ahsoka groaned in annoyance, but then got up to head to the kitchenette to oblige him. As soon as her back was turned, Maul flicked the darksaber on and used it to remove her head from the rest of her body, watching her collapse to the ground without any sorrow. He went over to the computer to grab the chip and put it back into his pocket, and then he pulled out his comm. “Anakin, it’s Maul. Your padawan is dead. She was killed by Obi-Wan. But don’t worry- I got him. I can even send you the address if you’re ever feeling nostalgic and want to send flowers.” Then he hung up, and headed towards the door to go back outside.

He wasn’t expecting to be stopped short by the sight of a filthy looking Obi-Wan, who was glaring at him. He grinned. He would have been regretful if Obi-Wan had died in such a pathetic way, but now he could gift the man with a proper warrior’s death, and he sprang forward.

Obi-Wan used the force to grab at the darksaber, but Maul expected it, and held tight, using the force to keep his hand connected. He kept swinging, and the two of them began to fight in the small space, with Obi-Wan dodging aside to avoid the way that the darksaber was trying to kill him.

After getting in a few good blows with the force, Obi-Wan was tossed back through the wall, which splintered easily beneath him. As he shook off the daze he felt, Obi-Wan looked around the bedroom, and could see the glint of a metal tube, and he lunged over to grab Ahsoka’s lightsaber off of her bedside table. He quickly turned it on and whirled around to face Maul again. “How are those brand new legs treating you?” he asked tauntingly.

Maul narrowed his eyes. “At least I was able to walk away. The same can’t be said of your miserable, old fool.”

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

Maul grinned. “That master of yours, the one who supposedly died at my hands- I made sure to make it so that the general consensus would be the truth. I tracked him down, and then sent one of my sisters to pose as a friend. I poisoned him, and he died writhing in agony, as he should have years ago.”

Obi-Wan gasped sharply, and clenched his jaw. He hadn’t tried to talk to Qui-Gon, not since he had followed Anakin to the dark. He hadn’t wanted to destroy Qui-Gon with the knowledge that his second apprentice had also fallen, and he had feared that it would destroy him to see the disappointment in Qui-Gon’s eyes. It hadn’t occurred to him that he would lose Qui-Gon to one of his co-workers. Despite their rocky beginning, and some of the fights they’d had over the years, Obi-Wan had truly loved Qui-Gon.

He growled, and leapt forward, swinging his lightsaber. He knew that it would be attracted towards the darksaber. He used the moment that the sabers clashed to drop his saber, and then duck forward and drive a small dagger right into Maul’s stomach. He had grabbed the knife from a diner he’d stopped in for water after emerging from what had almost been his grave.

Maul fell to the ground, and Obi-Wan snatched up the darksaber from the loosened grip. He drove it through Maul’s forehead, and then severed the entire head as well, just to be on the safe side. He stood there for a moment, looking at his two fallen enemies. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for just a minute. Then he headed out, ready to go on and face Anakin and end this once and for all.

,,,

Obi-Wan easily used the force to pass by the stormtroopers that surrounded Anakin’s home and were charged with protecting him. He’d always known that Anakin had no interest in employing truly intelligent soldiers, just people who would follow his orders without any questions.

He hadn’t come here sooner, though, because he knew that killing Anakin would probably be the last thing he ever did, and he hadn’t wanted to do it until he was sure that his other enemies had perished as well. 

Obi-Wan held out his darksaber as he approached Anakin’s quarters, and took one deep breath before bursting in. He froze in place as a little girl with dark hair pointed a toy blaster at him. “Bang! You’re dead, Papa!” Obi-Wan didn’t know what to do, and looked around the room helplessly. A young boy with sandy hair was hiding behind the girl, peering cautiously out at Obi-Wan.

Anakin was standing in the corner of the room, arms crossed over his chest, a look of amusement on his face. “Fall down, Papa. You’ve been killed,” he said in a staged whisper.

Obi-Wan turned off the saber, and then clutched one hand to his chest. “Oh-”

“Leia,” Anakin provided for him.

“Oh, Leia, you’ve killed me.” Then he dramatically dropped to the floor. 

He could hear the gentle patter of light footsteps, and then he cracked his eyes open to look as the girl- Leia- knelt down next to him, and reached out to shake his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to actually kill you, Papa,” she said with some concern in her voice.

Obi-Wan sat up. “It’s alright, I’m fine,” he promised. He had no idea what was going on, but he could feel it, through the force and through instinct, that this girl, and the boy was still hesitantly hanging back, were his children. He pulled Leia into a hug, gulping back tears to avoid alarming her. He could already feel that both of the twins were force-sensitive, and he didn’t want to worry them with his feelings. 

He could hear Anakin speaking softly in the background, “Go on, Luke, go say hi to your Papa,” and then the boy finally approached, and let himself be pulled into the hug as well. After a few seconds, Leia grew impatient, and squirmed away from Obi-Wan. Anakin leaned over to pick her up, balancing her on his hip. “Hungry?” She nodded eagerly, and Anakin looked towards Luke. “And you too?”

“No,” Luke muttered softly, not doing anything to try and get away from Obi-Wan’s hug. 

Leia shook her head. “He’s lying. He’s hungry,” she announced to the entire room, as if she was speaking in front of an entire crowd rather than just an audience of three. “He just doesn’t want to let go of Papa.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure that Papa doesn’t want to let go of him either. Follow me, Obi-Wan. The kitchen is this way.” 

Obi-Wan carefully picked up Luke, and followed Anakin. He wanted to point out that he already knew where the kitchen was, because this place had been his home just as long as it had been Anakin’s, but decided that it didn’t really matter.

Soon, both children were settled onto the stools, Obi-Wan leaned up against the end of the counter next to them, while Anakin pulled out some food to begin cooking. It had never been Anakin’s strongest gift, but without Obi-Wan around to cook for him, he surely had to have learned. Though at the moment he was just making basic sandwiches, so it didn’t really matter much.

Even though he was well aware of the danger Anakin represented, Obi-Wan just couldn’t tear his eyes off of the twins. They were perfect- everything he’d ever imagined them being, and they were alive and healthy and happy, and he didn’t know how any human being could survive with all of these emotions inside of them. Anakin shares stories of the children with Obi-Wan as he makes the sandwiches, talking about the ways that they’ve already manifested their ability to use the force. 

After the plates were set down in front of the twins, they swapped one half of their sandwiches with each other, even though they’d both had identical sandwiches to begin with. Anakin shrugged when he saw Obi-Wan watching them intently. “They always do that. I guess it must be some kind of twin thing.”

Leia finished eating first, and then poked Luke in the arm to tell him to hurry up. Then she turned in her chair to look at Obi-Wan. “I had a dream last night where I was a princess,” she announced. “And you were super old with white hair, and Daddy blew up a planet, and you and Luke were friends, but you didn’t know me.”

“It was just a dream,” Anakin told her with the patience of someone who’d had to say that many times before. Obi-Wan had never seen Anakin so calm and patient before. Maybe having children had been good for him, though Obi-Wan would never stop hating him from taking them away.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “Sometimes dreams are not just dreams. I know that the force likes to show us things that don’t always make sense.”

Luke stuck out one of his hands, finally feeling bold enough to string together an entire sentence. “I dreamed that Daddy cut my hand off.”

Obi-Wan could only imagine what kinds of things Anakin had shown them to bring such dreams to them. Whether they had been sent by the force or not, the idea of such young children talking so casually about horrific images was very disturbing. 

Once both of the twins had finished eating, they were sent to bed. They shared a room, each with their own bed, but Leia promptly informed him that they preferred to sleep in the same bed, because sometimes they had dreams that they’d never even met each other before, and it was comforting to be right next to each other.

It broke Obi-Wan’s heart to hear such things from his own children, but he just kissed their foreheads, and got into the bed with them. Luke and Leia instantly separated and Leia pointed to the now open spot between them. “You go here, Papa,” she told him. 

Obi-Wan climbed into the space, and then both children immediately scooted closer so that they could cling to him. He wrapped his arms around their shoulders, and looked down at them, hoping that they could feel how much he loved them, even though he barely even knew them.

He stayed there for a while, content to just be with them, but he also knew that he still needed to deal with Anakin. Once the children were both asleep, he carefully got up, making sure not to jostle them enough to accidentally wake them up. Then he left the room, closing the door behind him, before following the feeling of Anakin’s signature towards the living room.

Anakin was lounging on the couch, scrolling through something on the pad on his lap, but he tossed it aside carelessly when Obi-Wan entered the room. “So I guess this is the part where we fight to the death, then?”

Obi-Wan quickly went to grab his saber, but Anakin shot him before he could, and then used that brief moment of surprise to use the force and pull the saber over to him. The shot hurt, but it didn’t kill him or stun him or blow his leg off. Obi-Wan staggered forward, and sank down onto the couch next to Anakin, though he made sure to keep the middle cushion between them. He looked down, and saw a small dart sticking out of his leg. “What the hell is this?” he demanded, right before yanking the dart out and tossing it aside.

Anakin stood up, and wandered over to the other side of the room, holding up a small, unusual looking blaster. “It’s dual purpose. Shoots a nifty little force inhibitor into your body, as well as a truth serum. See, the thing is, I really want answers, Obi-Wan. But I know that you’re too strong at shielding for me to pluck anything straight out of your head, at least not without some very extreme torture, and I definitely don’t trust you to tell me the truth of your own volition. I’m not even sure if you know what the truth is when it comes to me.” He set the gun down, and then walked back over to sit down on the couch again, a bit closer to Obi-Wan this time. “Be honest. Did you really think that your life as Ben Kryze would work?”

Obi-Wan clenched his teeth together as he wanted to insist that of course it would. But the truth was yanked out of him harshly. “No,” he whimpered. “But at least I would have had Luke and Leia!”

Anakin gave Obi-Wan an almost unreadable look. “Did you love Satine?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes.”

“Did you love me?”

This was another answer torn out of him. “Yes.”

Anakin nodded once, as if it was the answer he’d expected, and then leaned back, reaching up to cross his arms behind his head and rest the back of his head on his hands. “If you loved me, then why did you leave me? Why did you steal yourself and our children away like some thief in the night?”

Obi-Wan clenched his jaw at the thought of having to explain everything to Anakin. But he had no choice at the moment. He opened his mouth to tell Anakin exactly what had happened, and why he had left. “Do you remember the last job I went on? Well I got sick on the plane, and again the next morning, and I started to suspect that I might be pregnant…”

,,,

Obi-Wan stared at the little metal stick resting on the counter in front of him. He paced back and forth in front of it a few times, stopping once to lift his shirt and stare at his stomach in the mirror, before snatching up the box it had come in, and reading the instructions to himself again. Pee on the stick, wait ninety seconds, blue means pregnant. All simple enough. Too simple, really. Did the people who made these tests understand how much a little blue square could change a person’s entire life?

The second that the time was up, Obi-Wan grabbed at the stick, before he could get the chance to look at the results, he shoved it into the trash can, and he let out a small cough to hide the scream that had built up in the back of his throat. He couldn’t look. It had probably just been a bad meal, or maybe a small fever, but there was no reason to believe that it could be- that he could be-

Obi-Wan cut off those thoughts, and then yanked a bunch of toilet paper from the roll so that he could shove it down on top of the test to avoid looking at it. Surely if he was pregnant, he wouldn’t have needed a test to tell him. The force would have made him aware of the little bundle of cells building a new life inside of him, but that wasn’t the case. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he hadn’t meditated in a few weeks now.

He left the bathroom, determined to just forget all about the test. Before he could flop down onto the big, comfy bed, there was a knock at the door, and Obi-Wan let out an annoyed sigh before looking over at it without moving towards it. “Who is it?”

“Good afternoon, I’m Amanda Kim, in charge of customer satisfaction. I’ve got a little gift basket for you here, compliments of the hotel.”

Obi-Wan reached up to rub at the sides of his head. “Can you just leave it-” there was a loud noise as the door was blasted off the hinges, and Obi-Wan immediately leapt over to the side of the bed and used the force to call his lightsaber to him. 

The woman with the blaster stomped inside, but paused when she saw the glow of the saber. Firing in this close range would be easy for Obi-Wan to fend off the shots, and she was clearly smart enough to know that the ricochet could easily kill her. So they were at a standstill, with Obi-Wan still crouched in an awkward position. 

Then the woman narrowed her eyes, and after a moment, let out a soft gasp. “You’re pregnant?”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened in alarm, and he quickly shook his head. “No!”

The woman looked like she wanted to take a step closer, but then thought better of it. “You are! Just a couple of weeks along from the looks of it. You’ve got this brightness around you in the force. It’s the same thing I saw with my cousin. You’d have to be completely blind to have not seen it yourself.” She lowered her blaster, and gave Obi-Wan a long look. “How about you go home, and I’ll do the same? No one needs to die tonight.”

Obi-Wan felt like he was frozen in shock, even though he had already suspected that this could be a possibility. He reached down with his free hand to rub at his belly without even thinking about it, and nodded once.

The woman gave him a gentle smile. “Congratulations.” Then she slowly backed out of the room, before turning and running down the hallways.

Obi-Wan shut off his lightsaber and let it drop to the ground, and then looked down at his stomach. It looked the same as always, but he was afraid to look with the force. But he couldn’t stay in denial forever, could he? He slowly got to his feet and shuffled back into the bathroom, shoving aside the toilet paper he’d discarded. The test was lying face up, the blue square visible even from where Obi-Wan was standing.

His shoulders slumped down, and he had no idea what to think, or what to do. Just yesterday, he would have done anything for Anakin. But suddenly, he had someone who was a bigger priority. He wanted his child to have the best possible life, and they’d never have that with the emperor as a father. 

Obi-Wan quickly packed up all of his things and hurried out of the hotel room, not even noticing he’d left behind his weapon until it was far too late for him to go back and get it.

,,,

“I thought you were dead,” Anakin whispered. “Whatever you did to your shields made it feel like you were gone. I mourned you for months! And then, I finally felt you again. I thought that you must have been severely injured to stay away for so long. So imagine my surprise when I found you knocked up and engaged to some lady. Do you know how cruel that was, Obi-Wan? How could you have done that to me?”

Obi-Wan glanced over in the general direction that led towards the twins’ room. “I was scared,” he admitted. “I was scared of the idea of learning how to become a new person, and I was more scared of the idea that you wouldn’t be able to. Our children deserve better than being raised to be villains and- and- monsters.”

Anakin leaned closer to Obi-Wan, and reached out to cup the side of his face. “You should have just come to me, Obi-Wan. We could have talked. We could have worked something out. Why did you have to run from me?” Then he pulled Obi-Wan forward to kiss him, and pulled away just enough that their foreheads were pressed together. “Just apologize, Obi-Wan. That’s all I ask of you. And then you can stay here with me and Luke and Leia and we’ll be a happy family.”

While Anakin was distracted with his own words, Obi-Wan worked the force inhibitor out of him. It was just a tiny little speck, but he used the force to shove it right down Anakin’s throat. Anakin gagged for a moment, and then got to his feet. Obi-Wan pulled the darksaber back over, and looked at Anakin. 

Anakin’s eyes widened. “Master Jinn taught you? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together, and tried to will himself not to start crying, though it seemed to be a futile effort. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just a bad person.”

“You’re not a bad person,” Anakin whispered. “You’re my favorite person.”

Obi-Wan’s breath hitched as he rushed forward and drove his saber right through Anakin’s heart, and then sobbed as the body fell to the floor, dead. He reached up to press one hand over his mouth, and he could feel the weight of all his tears falling down onto it. Then, he knelt down next to Anakin, and reached out to brush a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “Force be damned, but you’re my favorite person too.” Then he stood up, and headed back to get the kids. They needed to get out of here before anyone realized that their emperor was dead.

,,,

Obi-Wan clutched the edge of the sink as he sobbed. He’d made sure that the television in the other room was loud enough that the twins wouldn’t be able to hear him, and he made sure to keep track of their force signatures to make sure they didn’t wander off, but most of his attention was on his own tears.

No matter what had happened, he had truly loved Anakin, and Ahsoka, and even Ventress in their own weird way. And now they were gone, because he’d killed them. He’d had to do it, but it still hurt so badly. And knowing, on top of everything else, that Qui-Gon was dead as well. Everything very nearly felt hopeless.

But all was not lost. His children were alive and well, and so far hadn’t asked any tough questions about their Daddy. He splashed water on his face, and made sure that it didn’t look like he’d just been crying, and then headed out into the other room to flop down onto the bed between his children. They were both sensitive enough to the force to feel that he was upset, but he assured them that he was fine, and they quickly turned their attention back to the show that was playing. 

Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what he was going to do next. But he had his family, and he was happier than he had ever allowed himself to believe was possible.


End file.
